Korangal valley
Encyclopedia
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
is located south of the Pech River in the Pech District of Kunar Province
Kunar Province
Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
in northeastern Afghanistan. To the east is Asadabad
Asadabad, Afghanistan
Asadabad or Asad Abad is the capital city of Kunar Province in Afghanistan. It is located in the eastern portion of the country adjacent to Pakistan...
, capital of Kunar Province
Kunar Province
Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. Its capital is Asadabad. It is one of the four "N2KL" provinces...
, to the west is the Chapa Dara District
Chapa Dara district
Chapa Dara District is situated in the western part of Konar Province, Afghanistan and borders Nuristan Province. The population is 27,500 . The district is mountainous and farming and animal husbandry are not possible in the whole district. Some people work abroad...
, and to the south is the Chawkay District
Chawkay district
Chawkay District is situated in the central part of Kunar Province, Afghanistan. The population is 31,600 . The district center is the village of Chawkay at 726 m altitude in the valley of the Kunar river. 80 % of the houses in the district were destroyed during the wars.**...
(Diwagal Valley). In the south east there is Narang wa Badil District
Narang wa Badil district
Narang wa Badil District is situated in the central part of Kunar Province, Afghanistan south of Asadabad. It is surrounded by high mountains and the Kunar River. The population is 26,700 . The district center is the village of Kuz Narang at 742 m altitude. The arable land is not much and is not...
(Badeil Valley), and in the south west Nurgal District
Nurgal District
Nurgal District is situated in the western part of Kunar Province, Afghanistan, 90 km West from Asadabad, and is near Jalalabad city. It borders Nangarhar Province to the west and south, Chapa Dara district to the north and Chawkay and Khas Kunar districts to the east. The population is 28,000...
(Mazar Valley), which includes Shumast Aret.
Firebase Phoenix
Firebase Phoenix
Firebase Phoenix is a small American firebase in the Korengal valley in Kunar Province, Afghanistan.The valley is very close to the Pakistani border, north of the Khyber Pass, east of Tora Bora....
(later called Firebase Vimoto) was established in the village of Babeyal to act as a security buffer between the villagers and active anti-coalition militia (ACM)
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
fighters in the valley. Firebase Phoenix was established in the Spring of 2007 by 2nd Platoon, A Company, 1-32d Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, while fighting waged in the villages and mountains. Medical aid was brought to the surrounding villages.
The Korengal Outpost was established at an abandoned lumber yard in April 2006 by Task Force Lava of 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines and subsequently transferred to Alpha Company, 1-32 Infantry, 10th Mountain Division.
During 2007 and 2008, the valley was the scene of fierce fighting between ISAF's
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
Eastern Command
Combined Joint Task Force 82
Combined Joint Task Force – 82 is a US led subordinate formation of the International Security Assistance Force . It originally served as both the National Command Element for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, reporting directly to the Commander, United States Central Command, and as ISAF's Regional...
consisting mostly of US forces; and ACM, notably the Taliban.
After years of sustained fighting and casualties with little evident progress, the US military closed Korangal Outpost on April 14, 2010. Forty-two American service men died fighting in the Korangal and hundreds were wounded, primarily between the years of 2006 and 2009. Many Afghan soldiers died there as well. The valley has been dubbed "The Valley of Death" by American forces.
Professional British photographer Tim Hetherington
Tim Hetherington
Timothy Alistair Telemachus Hetherington was a British-American photojournalistwith work that "ranged from multi-screen installations, to fly-poster exhibitions, to handheld device downloads." He was best known for the documentary film Restrepo , which he co-directed with Sebastian Junger; the...
won the World Press Photo
World Press Photo
World Press Photo is an independent, non-profit organization based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Founded in 1955 the organization is known for holding the world's largest and most prestigious annual press photography contest....
award for 2007 with a shot he took while reporting on the war in Korangal valley for Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair (magazine)
Vanity Fair is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present Vanity Fair has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935...
magazine in January 2008. Sebastian Junger
Sebastian Junger
Sebastian Junger is an American author, journalist and documentarian, most famous for the best-selling book The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea, his award-winning chronicle of the war in Afghanistan in the 2010 movie Restrepo, and his 2010 book War.-Background:Junger was born...
's (2010) book War, and the subsequent film Restrepo
Restrepo (film)
Restrepo is a 2010 documentary film about the Afghanistan war, directed by American journalist Sebastian Junger and British/American photojournalist Tim Hetherington....
document his experiences while embedded with a US Army company manning the small Observation Post Restrepo, named for a fallen comrade, in the Korangal valley.
Villages
The valley includes more than a dozen villages:| Ali Abad, Kunar (Elabat) | |
| Ashat, Kunar | |
| Bebiyal, Kunar | |
| Darbat, Kunar | |
| Donga, Kunar | |
| Landigal, Kunar | |
| Landigal, Kunar | |
| Hendarok lower, Kunar | |
| Hendarok upper, Kunar | |
| Kandalik, Kunar | |
| Chechal, Kunar | |
| Dakalbat, Kunar | |
| Seipale, Kunar | |
| Yakha China, Kunar | |
| Kandalam, Kunar | |
| Old Korangal, Kunar |
Including a few villages of Qalai-Gal-Valley
Tribes
The valley has six major tribes:- Baba Khel
- Ghasu Khel
- Langer Khel
- Malik Khel
- Mutiara Khel
- Kathee Khel
The Korangalies are Pashai. They can speak Pashto
Pashto language
Pashto , known as Afghani in Persian and Pathani in Punjabi , is the native language of the indigenous Pashtun people or Afghan people who are found primarily between an area south of the Amu Darya in Afghanistan and...
because the Safi Pastun tribes are all around them and they have some integration with Safi Pashtun tribes.
Agriculture and forestry
The valley has rocky mountains with limited agricultural land.The Korangal valley is lushly forested with large trees. Much of the valley's income is due to legal and illegal forestry and timber sales. In 2006, Coalition forces and the government of Afghanistan reclaimed the Lumber Yard and established the first government presence in the valley since before the Soviet Invasion. With the renewed government presence, legal timber trade has increased through the valley.
See also
- War in Afghanistan (2001–present)War in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
- Civilian casualties of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
- Coalition casualties in AfghanistanCoalition casualties in AfghanistanAs of November 30, 2011, there have been 2,744 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of ongoing coalition operations since the invasion in 2001. In this total, the American figure is for deaths "In and Around Afghanistan" which, as defined by the U.S...
- Soviet war in AfghanistanSoviet war in AfghanistanThe Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
- Taliban insurgencyTaliban insurgencyThe Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
- Casualties of the Iraq War
- Death of Linda NorgroveDeath of Linda NorgroveLinda Norgrove, a Scottish aid worker, and three Afghan colleagues were kidnapped by members of the Taliban in Kunar Province, eastern Afghanistan, on 26 September 2010. The three kidnapped Afghan aid workers were released by the Taliban on 3 October 2010 while negotiations over Norgrove's release...
External links
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/korengal_valley/537234765/
- Afghanistan – Korengal Valley. Battle Company Is Out There. New York Times, February 24, 2008
- Afghanistan's Korengal Valley. 31 photos. November 12, 2008. Boston.comBoston.comBoston.com is a regional website that offers news and information about Boston, Massachusetts and its surroundings. It claims to be one of the most visited regional websites in the United States....
(Boston Globe). - msnbc.com video: Under fire from Afghanistan’s frontlines:. 4 videos. October 2008. MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
. October 20, 2008 introduction and discussion: Confronting Afghanistan's 'Valley of Death'. - GRITtv Interview With Laura Flanders and Tim Hetherington on "Restrepo"
- Wikimapia-Location of the Korangal Valley
- Panoramio-Location of Korangal Outpost (The KOP)